A case study on using data and technology in crisis response

Written byPatrick Fine, Chief Executive Officer, FHI 360

Photo Credit: BWB Studio/iStock.com

When there is an emergency, conflict or disaster, communities affected by the crisis are often the best source of information for what is happening on the ground. Early engagement with people from these affected communities is crucial.

In this episode, I speak with Hend Alhinnawi, co-founder and chief executive officer of Humanitarian Tracker, a forum that connects and empowers citizens using crowdsourced information, data mining and machine learning to support emergency response in humanitarian crises. Humanitarian Tracker provides a case study on the use of data and technology for emergency response.

Hend and I discuss the best ways to empower citizens, how data collection can spot missing gaps in information and how innovations can occur when taking something that already exists and applying it in a new way.

A Deeper Look podcast is covering topics related to humanitarian crises and emergency response this year. You can listen on SoundCloud, iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. I invite you to subscribe and join the conversation by leaving a comment or sharing the link on social media.